Recycle Water from Industrial Washing Machines
The washing of clothes, bedding & towels consumes a lot of water. Whilst new washing machines will use much less water, per load, than older models, and front loading machines much less than top loading machines - still, each load consumes anything from 50 to over 100 litres of fresh water.
You can see how, very quickly, the average household can use a lot of water.
Now think of industrial washing machines - whether the ones at your local laundry, commercial laundries, factories or even large hotels. These are obviously much larger washing machines than the standard ones that most of us have at home, so they will use far more water and do far more washes than the standard home. The usage figures quoted for industrial machines, when doing an internet search, is an average of 150 litres per wash and each machine could be doing multiple washes per day.
With these sorts of numbers, the ability to easily recycle the washing water and use it for future washes makes sense not just from a financial viewpoint but also environmental.
Generally, the water used for washing is drinking quality so it has been through many treatments that can be both very power hungry and use chemicals that have an awful impact on our environment. If we are able to reduce the volume of fresh water that is used then we are reducing the negative impact we are having on the world around us.
This is what our systems will allow you to do; collect the dirty water from your machine, treat it to separate the dirt and detergents, filter the waste then store the clean water ready to be used in your next wash.
In normal use, our systems will reduce your water consumption by over 90% as, apart from a small amount of loss during the treatment and filtration process, you are not disposing of any water so the only fresh water required is a small top-up to make up for the natural losses.
Our systems are customisable to suit each customers unique requirements and their budget. Some businesses may only use 250 litres of water per week whilst others will use much, much more - so whilst the basic treatment process remains almost the same, the size of the system will vary to accommodate the larger volumes. Also, depending upon customers requirements, the treatment process can be based around a manual operation or almost fully automated, it doesn’t matter. All we need from our customers is enough space to be able to store the water during treatment and whilst it is waiting to be used.
In return for this you will have a huge reduction in your water consumption which is not just good for you and your business but for the planet we all share.
We are working with companies of many different sizes, all across Europe, most of whom have different requirements for their water; some want to clean the water and dispose of it others want to reuse it whether for cleaning or for other uses around their factories. When wanting to recycle water back into a washing machine, it is very important that the water is properly treated. It must not only be filtered, to remove solids & detergents etc. and filtered again through activated carbon which effectively leaves us with clean water, but also the water must be treated to kill bacteria that dirty clothes, bedding, towels etc. contain - we don’t want this in the next wash. This can be done with either the addition of a chemical biocide or by subjecting the water to special UV light which effectively kills the bacteria by penetrating the cell walls, making them unable to cause any harm.
You may be wondering: what is the point of recycling water as it just goes down the drain, then its something that you don’t have to think about any longer, you can just get on with running your business? Well, one can’t argue with that, if you dispose of the water then it’s someone else who has to deal with it and, yes, you can just get on with running your business however there is the environmental side, as well as the financial side as you pay for the water you use and for the water that you dispose (which keeps the shareholders of water companies happy)
but - what if disposing of water can be an issue? We worked with a company who had washing machines but weren’t on mains sewage - so they were filling, and flooding, their soakaway. We helped them to stop that by recycling their water and thus greatly reducing the volume of water they disposed and they stopped flooding their soakaway.
So, treating and recycling your water can have many benefits, and these will vary depending upon the user, but ultimately a reduction in the use of fresh water can only be a positive. Check out our article about The Importance of Recycling Water if you’re looking for any more reasons as to why it is such a beneficial process for you, your company, and its customers
If you feel that our process would be of benefit to your company then the whole process starts with a simple step, contact us and we can discuss what you are currently doing, what you would like to achieve, and how we can help you.